Flora and fauna of West Papua

The sheer variety of ecosystems in West Papua fosters
very high levels of biodiversity, cramming for instance as many bird and
plant species as nearby mega-diverse Australia in one tenth the land surface.
Whereas the birdlife appears to be relatively well known, large tracts
of the territory do remain terra incognita for most other taxonomic
groups till this day.

The flora of West Papua is one of the most diverse in
the tropics, yet also the least studied and understood. Botanists have
estimated that the varied soil types may nourish as many as 20-25,000
species of vascular plants, including a staggering 3,000 orchids!

New Guinea's insect fauna probably exceeds 200,000 species
and may even realistically approach 300,000 sorts, more than half of which
are considered likely to occur in West Papua. Top of the bill are the
beautiful birdwing butterflies among which the Paradise Birdwing Ornithoptera
paradisea perhaps stands out as particularly attractive.

With 164 documented species, the mammalian fauna of West
Papua is still poorly known, especially when considering that 227 sorts
have been found across the border in Papua New Guinea. Large carnivores,
monkeys and squirrels are lacking completely. Instead, there is a weird
and rarely seen monotreme, the Long-beaked Echidna Zaglossus bruijnii,
a miscellany of cuddly marsupials including tree kangaroos, cuscuses and
ringtails, as well as more bat species than anywhere else on Earth.

Some 330 sorts of amphibians and reptiles are already
known from West Papua, though the herpetofauna is believed to easily exceed
500 species. These include more than one hundred native species of frog,
eight freshwater and six marine turtles, some 140 lizards among which
the Giant Monitor Lizard Varanus salvadorii stands out as the
world's longest, furthermore two crocodilians, and 75 species of snake,
some of which highly venomous as one might expect.

Finally, West Papua boasts more than 700 bird species,
54 of which are endemic and hence may be seen nowhere else on Earth. The
cliché-ridden examples of spectacular avian diversity from many
an ornithology textbook all occur here: from the huge, flightless cassowaries
and the fascinating megapodes or incubatorbirds, to majestic crowned pigeons,
amazing bowerbirds, and of course the nearly mythical birds-of-paradise.
To these may be added another exciting unicum: the comparatively
recent realization of plumage toxicity in the New Guinea genera Pitohui
and Ifrita.

To a biogeographer
it is tantalizing, as well as confusing
or frustrating when trying to determine
the history of its biota.
To an ecologist, and to all biologists,
it is a happy hunting ground of endless
surprises, and unanswered questions.
To a conservationist it is like a
dream come true, a 'flash-back'
of a few centuries, as well as a challenge
for the future.J. L. Gressitt, 1982